Criterion Press Release: Howard's End (DVD)

Why no blu-ray???

Criterion' HOWARDS END Blu-ray was released on Nov. 3. I believe this and the forthcoming standard DVD have content identical to a prior Merchant Ivory release.  

What's the point?  I have that release, it's perfectly fine.  Why this?

^To allow the spine numbers of the SD and Blu-Ray line to correspond to each other. Otherwise there is no difference, aside from packaging and I assume menus. IIRC, they're doing a thing where you mail in your existing Merchant Ivory Collection copy of Howard's End and they send back the new rebranded Criterion Collection release.

And what was the spine number for the previous Howards End release?

By the way, I can't find the spine number for other Merchant Ivory films as well, such as The Bostonians and Maurice. Why's that?

I don't believe the Merchant Ivory stuff was ever given a spine number since the stuff came out under it's own branded line.

You mean Criterion does not consider it part of the Criterion collection?

I don't think I'm making myself clear.  Back around 2005 or so, Criterion created a new branded line called The Merchant Ivory Collection.  These were high quality releases but distinctly seperate from The Criterion Collection.  The Merchant Ivory Collection entries were not individually numbered and in fact, the entire collection was not considered to be part of the Criterion Collection.  Needless to say it was comprised exclusively of Merchant Ivory films.

Fast foward now a few years and Criterion decides to put out Howards End on Blu Ray.  Well, the Merchant Ivory Collection is now defunct and they only want to do that one title for now.  What better solution than to simply add that title to the Criterion Collection?  Only problem is that if they only do BR then the collection numbers get thrown off because the SD is un-numbered from another collection.  So, they repurpose the old Merchant Ivory SD, slap a Criterion number on it and give it new cover art.  That's about where we are today.